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Moves are afoot that could see advertising soon double in primetime programs on SBS but government taking the proceeds of the extra revenue from the increased ads as a payment in efficiency dividends.

Effectively, the current cap of five minutes advertising per hour will increase to 10 minutes.

But an increase in one hour will mean a decrease elsewhere. ‘Ad averaging’, as it is called, is a possible outcome of the Communications Department’s Efficiency Study into SBS that was conducted earlier this year. A draft copy of the Study has been given to SBS.

Last month the Attorney General, Senator George Brandis, QC, said, “People do have a right to be bigots you know. In a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive or insulting or bigoted.” He was defending the Abbott Government’s proposed repeal of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 in the Freedom of Speech Bill 2014.

Section 18C currently makes it “unlawful for a person to . . . offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people . . .

The first two Directors ever appointed based on merit to the SBS Board of Directors were SBS’s Chairman, Joseph Skrzynski AO, and Director, Elleni Bereded-Samuel. Their term on the SBS Board is due to expire next month.

The Skrzynski story

In the lead-up to his five year anniversary, Save Our SBS concludes our series on the historic first ever merit-based appointments to the SBS Board.

Last month we profiled Bereded-Samuel. Now Joseph Skrzynski

Skrzynski entered the world of broadcasting five years ago with experience as a viewer, listener and financier.

Although the government withdrew its controversial media reform bills package, the legislation that related to SBS passed both Houses.

The new law guarantees an Indigenous Director to the SBS Board which Save Our SBS welcomes and incorporates most of the SBS Charter to digital services (online).

In applying the Charter to online, the package did not require SBS online services be "diverse" nor use "innovative forms of expression". These unique Charter obligations will remain on SBS free-to-air but need not apply to SBS online programs and internet only streamed radio or TV services. SBS has four digital

The significance of the funding increase to SBS will be lost on the electorate due to a failure of government to address the commercialisation of SBS. The spirit, the very essence of public broadcasting has been lost to the ongoing commercial influence and interference which now has such a strong foothold that any notion of SBS resolving this themselves is fanciful. Until such time as viewers see a less commercial looking SBS, one without in-program disruptions, the government will have failed to gain support from a significant cohort of electors.

When the SBS was established as a corporation under the SBS Act in 1991, the Parliament granted SBS the right to broadcast advertisements before and after programs, and in “natural program breaks”. Although the Act did not define that phrase, the Hansard of the day clearly shows the Parliament intended that “natural program breaks” meant “half time in a soccer match”. No other definition was given.

On this basis, advice was provided to the SBS that it was not allowed to place ads in programs except sport. Ads only appeared between programs

The Greens have promised the most for SBS. Labor more of the same – perhaps, and the Liberals and Nationals are not saying.

SaveOurSBS.org approached the four major parties for their SBS policies. The Greens and Labor parties responded whereas the Liberals and Nationals did not. An overview is provided in the table below – for the SBS policies of the Greens and Labor parties only.

Our analysis and opinion is below the summary table followed by the full text of each party’s SBS policies.

SBS BOSS ADDRESSES THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: Shaun Brown, Managing Director of SBS has felt under fire recently. So much so that Brown, who usually avoids talking to the media, felt the need to tell his side of the story at the National Press Club on 29 August 2007. However, the public now see straight through his cunning move to commercialise SBS and dumb it down.

Let’s look at what the quietly spoken Brown said when he put his spin to the National Press Club.

Last week many people voiced their opinion saying they want Kostakidis to return to SBS, to read the nightly News. We know. The Save Our SBS web site (www.SaveOurSBS.org) has been inundated with comments to that effect.

In wondering why so many people have objected to Australia’s best newsreader not being on the small box we need to understand that people are fed up with the commercialisation at SBS.

The community upset triggered by the Kostakidis departure is more than just the absence of the newsreader herself.